Dman keyboard@! As I was saying, [Mg] and Tm seem to be inversely proportional
for a primer/template. Thus, it is advisable to optimize both conditions to
maximize your yield (if that is your goal). Remember that for most PCRs, you
are using 2 primers (let's hope!), and the optimization is best done
empirically. I realize that above I waved the magic wand "counterion
condensation and coulombic interaction", which may have worked on my Nucleics
exam, but does not really answer your question. Thus, I must defer you to:
Manning (1969) J Chem Phys (51), 924
Record, Lohman, and Haseth (1976) J Mol Biol (107), 145
I hope this helps your PCRs
Brett Lindenbach
Washington University - St. Louis
brett at borcim.wustl.edu